Morsi espionage trial postponed to 16 June

Egyptian ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi looks on from behind the defendants cage during is trial on May 8, 2014.(AFP PHOTO / TAREK EL-GABASS)

Cairo Criminal Court postponed ousted president the espionage trial for former president Mohamed Morsi to 16 June after a closed session on Monday.

Morsi and 35 Muslim Brotherhood members including Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, his deputies Khairat El-Shater and Mahmoud Ezzat and leaders of the group’s political wing Saad Al-Katatni, Mohamed Al-Beltagy and Essam El-Erian, stand trial for collaborating with foreign groups.

The defendants are accused of organising “a plot” with the aid of groups such as Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The prosecution statement that circulated when the defendants were referred to court in December, described the trial as “the biggest case of espionage in the history of Egypt”.

Morsi is currently charged in three other cases, in which he is accused of breaking out of prison in January 2011, insulting the judiciary and inciting the killing of protesters outside of the presidential palace in December 2012.